Page "Bill Clinton" Paragraph 29

While campaigning for U. S. President, the then Governor Clinton returned to Arkansas to see that Ricky Ray Rector would be executed.

After killing a police officer and a civilian, Rector shot himself in the head, leading to what his lawyers said was a state where he could still talk but did not understand the idea of death.

According to Arkansas state and Federal law, a seriously mentally impaired inmate cannot be executed.

The courts disagreed with the allegation of grave mental impairment and allowed the execution.

Clinton's return to Arkansas for the execution was framed in a The New York Times article as a possible political move to counter " soft on crime " accusations.